Five Martial Arts Moves That are Great For Any Workout

It’s not for everyone, but martial arts is a great sports for those who are looking to do a little bit of something different and add some dimension to their everyday workouts. Come on, you’ve noticed how good the men and women who practice this technique look; check out Jessica Alba, for instance. She has one of the best bodies in Hollywood after having two kids and she credits that to her healthy lifestyle, which includes martial arts moves in some of her workouts. So what we’ve done is go ahead and make it a point to check out some of the most famous moves and see how we can add them to any workout. It seems that you can do it with ease, and you don’t even have to become a professional black belt – or even have a belt at all – to make these moves effective and worthwhile.

Each one of these moves is included in a number of workouts. In fact, I workout with Jillian Michaels and she includes a great deal of this kind of action in her workouts (okay, I don’t personally work out with her, but I do let her kick my butt with her DVDs while my kids laugh at me). It just goes to show that this kind of workout is highly effective. Here are five moves you can incorporate into any workout to make it more effective, more productive and to make you look so much more amazing.

Front Kick

Sit Up with Punch

Side Kick

Straight Punch

Knee Thrust

Just make sure you take the time to go ahead and learn the proper technique. This is always recommended so that you can avoid injury and maintain good health. Additionally, do not begin any new workout regimen until you’ve spoken with your doctor so that he can help you make healthy and effective decisions.

Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images For Laureus